Well my favorite flower is the simple daisy with its yellow center and white petals. Also I believe daisies bloom fairly early in the year, so they might work for you. Congrats to your daughter!

Is this for this year or next? Lovely as the idea is, I don't see how you could grow a garden by this June. If it's next year, that's a different story.

Calendulas or coreopsis might be options to consider. I think the daisy idea is a great one. Some sorts of lilies might be a good option, too.

I have a friend whose mother provided flowers from her garden for her wedding in late May. It was really lovely, but that year had a rainy (or late?) Spring, so the things that would have normally been blooming by that point weren't. This was quite a source of stress for the mother, and the flowers in the centerpieces weren't as open as you might have expected, but it was lovely nonetheless. You should think about whether this sort of thing would bother you, or if you'd be able to just roll with it.

I agree that this is taking on quite a project that would need to be done last minute. I would consider doing the bouquets, but not the table arrangements.

I would do peonies, the quintessential June wedding flower, but if you don't have the right variety growing already you are unlikely to be able to plant enough this year to have blooms next year.

In my garden yellows tend to be fall flowers, but off the top of my head, you could do blue and/or yellow iris (bearded or siberian), May Night Salvia, Lady's mantle for a nice shot of green, and white peonies would round it off nicely. Trying to think of other yellows . . .

There's one other thing I wanted to add.

If you are passionate about this task, and if doing it would bring you joy, then don't let anyone dissuade you. I got married last year, and I designed and made my own wedding gown. Many people told me that I was crazy, and that I shouldn't do it. It really was a massive undertaking, but it was also an amazing experience, and the part of the planning/prep process that brought me the most joy. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

So...if you feel that way about the flower project, and if you have nearly a year and a half to get things established in your garden, then I think you should go for it. You can try to get things established this season, and based on how it goes, you can re-assess your plan sometime this Summer.

Good luck!

Take it from a professional, I often use flowers, especially June flowers, from my garden in the weddings I do. The things I use most are the longer blooming items such as lady's mantle or foliages, which I plant for their cutting value. Short-lived blooms are a different story. I have tried to use my peonies almost every June, and about 60% of the time the bloom time has been off for the wedding I had planned. I have a back-up plan of course, which is the Boston Flower Market, and I enjoy the flowers anyway, but if I had planted them specifialy for that purpose, and for one special wedding, the stress would be enormous and the chance of success very low.

Thanks for all your replies! This would be in 2010. I thought I would try some arrangements this summer to see how they would hold up. I would do something fairly simple for the centerpieces of round tables that seat eight. I would need to make 12-14 probably, and I would have help.
I am concerned about the bloom time, I know it's NOT something I have any control over! If I could have a backup source I'd be happier. My daughter is a "locally grown" and organic sort of girl. We talked to a florist in our area (SE CT) and she said they have few local suppliers. That's why we started thinking about my garden.
I'd need to make the arrangements on Thurs for a Fri Am wedding, and transport them to Newport RI, about an hour away, on Thurs.(This sounds like the toughest part to me!) I'm worried about them starting to wilt, and I'd like some tips on how to keep them at their freshest, and what kinds of flowers might work better.
I'm exploring the idea right now, we'll see....

How about some of the new hydrangeas that bloom on old and new wood, like Endless Summer (blue), or others in that series. Other old and new wood bloomers include All Summer Beauty, Penny Mac, Dooley, etc. They might be less dependent on timing since each flower head lasts a while and new flowers are always pushing out. You'd need to plant a reasonably sized bush or several this season, but in my experience the bushes grow pretty fast and I have flowers just about all summer. Depending on the type of plant and your soil pH, they are blue, pink, or white.

In your area, I wouldn't have a clue about timing of any of the other hydrangeas, but someone else might know if any would have flowers at that time.

Pondlily

For June flowering, yellow flowers: Here is what I can think of that would be possible - Columbine, roses, dahlia, some blanket flower, tickseed, globeflower, lupine, foxgloves, iris, daisy, lily

Some others I can think of that flower in June but are not yellow: Astilbe, delphinium, catmint, bee balm, speedwell

Enjoy the wedding!

For my own wedding, we made all the arrangements except my bouquet (should have done that, too!) but we used flowers from a local farm. Got lucky and the peonies were perfect. I filled my little Toyota with them. I rooted and grew out ivy baskets for the tables. Lots of work, but so worth it.

This is not a suggestion for local, but rather for organic, fair-trade and non-toxic working conditions. My DD wanted roses for her big event a few years back and we got them from Organic Bouquet. I ordered enough to set up a wholesale account (amazingly affordable) and those flowers were so fresh the centerpieces lasted for almost two weeks. Two of us spent about 7 hours making 15 centerpieces. Leave yourself plenty of time and have fun! :-)

Amysrq, that sounds like a nice way to make wedding flowers!

My Iris and Peonies are blooming in early-mid June, and I always make bouquets of Peonies anyway, as they get ruined with the first drop of rain...:) Salvia nemorosa 'Snow Hill' is a lovely clumping white Salvia which is blooming in June.

Digitalis purpurea blooms throughout June and is very easy to start from seed. If you purchase some seeds now for a white cultivar (like 'Alba'), plant out numerous seedlings this year and you should have abundant blooms in June 2010.

Here is a pic of Digitalis purpurea I started from seed last Spring - planted out about one inch big and then grew into huge clumps by the fall. They are planted amongst some native perennials and grasses. These should send up tall spires of blooms in June (in mixed colors, hopefully), while the surrounding perennials will still be clumps of foliage. At least, that's the plan. ;)

{{gwi:1059420}}

If you can't have blooms from a florist as a backup plan, perhaps you can plant a wide variety of flowers scheduled to bloom at the right time, so that your garden can be your own backup plan.

Oh, thought of another white bloomer in June - Penstemon digitalis, a native that looks like it would make an excellent cutting flower. Again, easy to start from seed, the species has green foliage, and 'Husker's Red' has burgandy-tinted foliage.

Wow! You guys are so helpful! Let's see, I have catmint, lady's mantle, iris (blue and yellow), Husker's red penstemon ( I love it, It always has a lot of blooms),only pink peonies(but I could justify buying a lot more in white!),I've had lupines, but they die out for me. We both love foxgloves and hydrangeas, but I think hydrangea are later in the summer here, but I think I'll put some in anyway. There are hydrangeas growing at the wedding site too. I'm excited about lots of foxgloves! I was also thinking of stock, and a yellow knock out rose. She likes the simple flower structure.

As for Calendulas, I also thought about just a arrangement of annuals potted together.

Leira, I made my oldest daughter's veil. It was just a fingertip, edged with ribbon, and definitely NOT perfect! I really liked making something so special for her. My hat is off to you! Not only making, but actually designing your own wedding dress! I'd love to see it!

Amysrq, my daughter said bouquet first, but that seems a little intimidating to me.I'm not sure I want to do that! Thanks for the organic supplier. Also, what did you mean by "ivy baskets". I'm intrigued.

Whitegsardens, I think I've seen pictures of your beautiful garden! What wedding services do you do? If you don't mind me asking!

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about this idea!

My wedding was very much homemade, right down to almost all the food. For the tables, I found every stray basket I could and spray painted them all white. Then, I bought small variegated ivy plants and potted them up in liners that fit the baskets. Started this in February. I grew them out on my windowsill until late May for the wedding when they were quite a bit fuller. Not great, but good enough. We also tucked flowers in water picks here and there to fill them out some.

Sounds like you are developing a plan! Lots of great suggestions.

There are ways to force peony blossoms and also ways to preserve the buds if they look like they might bloom a bit early, so I wouldn't give up on peonies just because they have such a short bloom period. You can cut the budding stems and store them in your fridge for a period of time, and they will bloom a predictable period after being removed. I researched this online for a friend last year and it's done quite frequently.

As for hydrangeas, the typical hydrangeas will not be blooming in June, but as noted above there are some new varieties that bloom all summer, so you might want to plant some of those.

Have fun!

I am a floral and event designer in the Boston area.

Paigect, thanks for the peony tip, I wonder if all flowers can be held this way. I'm sure some are too delicate, but this is really helpful! I'm going to start experimenting!

whitegardens, Do you have weddings in your garden? If so you must always be busy weeding! My daughter's looking at a seaside location, but I (of course) love gardens!

Isn't it nice to be thinking of June, as if it were coming soon!!

In addition to all the ideas previously posted consider visiting nurseries starting about the beginning of June to see what is in bloom, and visit pick-your-own flower gardens to also see what might be available in June 2010. Also donÂt overlook striking greens (hosta leaves for example) to add some interest to the table arrangements.

I used flowers from a local pick-your-own farm to supplement hydrangea from my own yard to create about 15 table arrangements for a friendÂs early August wedding. The combination was quite striking.

I suggest choosing the vases you plan to use  and buying them now  so you can create many Âpractice arrangements this year. Doing so gives you the chance to play with many combinations, get a feel for what works best  and having the practice under your belt will help minimize pre-wedding stress. This I know from experience as I created all the table pieces for my sonÂs May wedding a few years back. The fact that I was working with a florist at the time certainly helped, but I did all the wedding prep from my home, and with the help of my sister and niece, delivered the arrangements to the wedding location (in the pouring rain and dressed for the wedding) and set them up on each table. IÂd do it all again, but am happy I had some advanced knowledge of what works best and how specific flowers work in specific vases.

Good luck with your venture  and have fun.

Thanks Joenesgarden! Good suggestions, and it's good to hear you'd do it again!

Where is the "pick your own farm" you went to? I live in south eastern CT. I found one farm in RI, but haven't come across any more. I like to have options!

Scott's, Rt 153, Essex. Google CT grown, you might find more farms.

Also, I have a digital photo of the flowers I did for the August wedding. Email me if interested in seeing it.

Be careful looking to nurseries in June to time your plantings! Many of those plants have been shipped in from warmer climates or have been held in a greenhouse, so their bloom might not be indicative of what they will do in your garden.

jonesgarden--I didn't see your email listed, but mine is lulutealux at yahoo dot com.I had much better results searching with CT grown!

whitegarden--We're scheduled to see a local grower this June to see what they have blooming and what I can plant. Thanks for the advice!

Come to the spring swap at my house and you will see what is in bloom in my garden in early June. Where are you?

Thanks for the invitation, whitegarden, its very tempting! That weekend is my grandson's birthday, so I'm not sure of our plans yet. We live in Conn, in between the casinos, as my husband says.

Our weather is similar to yours, I think, if you're an hour from Newport. The everblooming hydrangeas don't bloom early enough for a June wedding here; you'd really need to force them if hydrangeas are what you want.

Don't forget bulbs - if you like tulips and daffodils you could certainly have a car-load of them in June.

This thread was 'shared' with the Cottage Garden, and is wonderful. First of all, Pondlily and daughter - congrats!!! What I wanted to share with you was a tradition I remember from somewhere, that the flowers of the Mother's garden were used in the Bride's tussy mussy - her bouquet. They were then rooted to grow in the new Bride's home...hope you don't mind the interruption~~

Nancy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tussy Mussy's

Thanks for your kind thoughts Nancy! I agree, I got wonderful replies!That's a lovely idea. I have some special plants in my yard which are offspring from my mom's.

plan before the time. initially need is for someone to just come in, heavily prune the existing plants. trim the edges to the lawn, perhaps add some mulch to the beds, and then nearer the wedding date, return to plant up the beds with seasonal colour.

Wonder how this wedding went. Is pondlily still around?

Hi whitegardens, I sometimes pop in, but I've have been more interested in the kitchens forum lately, as we're finishing up some renovations. I linked a follow up post with some pictures, but I didn't end up growing the wedding flowers. Too many details all at once I guess, but I think the flowers were pretty and just what my daughter wanted! Thanks for your interest!

Here is a link that might be useful: photos in thread

pondlily, I remember the photos of your daughter's wedding, it was such a pretty wedding and your daughter and new husband look so excited and happy. Thanks for posting those again.

I love the smell of paperwhites.Start growing several batches at different dates before the wedding.planting different flowers would be best view for the wedding